


It's Just No Homo, Or Whatever

by mikaylamazing



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Misunderstandings, a small bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 09:52:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17302436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikaylamazing/pseuds/mikaylamazing
Summary: prompt: TJ flirts with cyrus but cyrus assumes it's all 'no homo' stuff---"He was literally flirting with you, Cyrus. Are you gonna deny that?" she asks. And no, he won't deny that; he's not an idiot."I'm aware of that. But are you aware that that's just how guys are these days? Straight guys joke around with their straight friends all the time."





	It's Just No Homo, Or Whatever

Cyrus is sitting alone in the cafeteria at their usual table. Buffy and Andi had let him know that they would be late to lunch today, asking their teacher about an assignment they were working on together. Cyrus honestly doesn't mind at all. He likes being by himself sometimes; it gives him the opportunity to actually hear his own thoughts, and for once they're not clouded by a certain basketball team captain. He had just finished reading a book last night, ready to give it his full attention with an in-depth analysis when he feels someone slide into the seat next to him. 

"'Sup," is all TJ says, a huge grin on his face as he takes in Cyrus's reaction. Even though he totally doesn't flinch. They make eye contact and there go his rational thoughts.

"Hi, TJ," Cyrus finally thinks to say. It takes an embarrassing amount of brain power to get it out. TJ still smiles at him and Cyrus doesn't think it's fair that that's all TJ has to do to completely destroy him.

"Your entourage isn't here. History test go okay?" And that's fine. That's a safe topic. Cyrus can talk about history without feeling like he's about to spontaneously combust. He talks about the test and the extra credit question he's 90% sure he answered correctly when he realizes TJ is just gazing absently at a point on his face, likely not listening to a word he's saying.

"What? Do I have something in my hair? Or my teeth?" Cyrus starts haphazardly dragging his hands over his face, through his hair, probably making himself look like even more of a mess than he did in the first place, but he can't believe TJ wouldn't tell him that he looks like a fool-

There are hands on his wrists - TJ's hands - gentle but insistent. Cyrus looks up and TJ is suddenly a lot closer than he was before, something Cyrus wasn't sure was possible until that moment. Cyrus swallows. He feels like he's about to choke on nothing, which is a new low for Cyrus. TJ is still smiling at him.

"Nothing is wrong with you. Believe me," TJ says. His facial expression is unreadable, and Cyrus would give anything to know what's going through his mind right now. He would give anything to know what's going through his own mind right now. 

"Then what were you looking at?" Cyrus would really like to know. Maybe he wasn't looking at Cyrus at all, but merely something behind him. He realizes that is entirely possible and he starts to feel embarrassed for assuming, but then TJ lets go of his wrists, on hand migrating to intertwine their fingers and yeah, okay, this is happening, I guess. 

"Just your face. Do you purposely try to look that cute, or do you just wake up like that?" Cyrus can feel the precise moment his entire face goes red, his mouth trying to form words but it's not quite working. It doesn't matter because soon he's rescued from his own rogue tongue by some guys he faintly recognizes from the basketball team. 

"Kippen! You coming?" one of them yells out after the first one proves unsuccessful. TJ still hasn't taken his eyes off of Cyrus, but he eventually untangles their hands, Cyrus's now sweaty and gross, as he stands up to join his friends. 

"You can tell me later. You're still free after school today, right?" It takes all of his energy for Cyrus to nod. TJ winks and runs to the two boys who were calling out for him, functioning completely normally as if the last five minutes hadn't happened at all. Cyrus wishes he could hate him for that. When he turns back to his food, he belatedly notices Buffy and Andi sitting across from him with wide eyes. He doesn't even have time to meekly ask how long they've been there before they're bombarding him with shrill noises that sound vaguely like questions. He doesn't think he has answers.

They finally calm down enough for Buffy to give one confident statement: "It's so obvious he likes you. I've literally never seen anybody with a bigger crush." Andi nods erratically, both of them smiling huge grins, looking like they're about to burst at any moment. Cyrus is feeling extremely overwhelmed, so he can really only come up with one word.

"What?"

Buffy rolls her eyes and looks like she could've started lecturing him if it weren't for Andi's hand on her arm. But, of course it's still not that simple because Andi has her own opinion.

"He was literally flirting with you, Cyrus. Are you gonna deny that?" she asks. And no, he won't deny that; he's not an idiot.

"I'm aware of that. But are you aware that that's just how guys are these days? Straight guys joke around with their straight friends all the time."

"But, you're not straight."

"That is beside the point. What I'm saying is, it isn't anything deeper than friendly banter. I'm sure he's like that with all of his friends."

Buffy actually laughs at that. "Are you kidding me?  He called you cute. I have never heard him come close to saying anything like that to any of the guys on the team." Cyrus can feel the blush coming back to his cheeks, and really, what has he done to deserve any of this?

"TJ does not have a crush on me. TJ is straight," Cyrus says, more to himself than anyone else, just to calm his erratic heartbeat. Cyrus's eyes move to the general area TJ walked off to, not at all trying to see him again, but to his surprise, TJ is already looking his way. When they make eye contact, TJ blows a kiss to him, melting back into that smile Cyrus will never get enough of. Buffy rolls her eyes again.

"Yeah. Totally straight." 

\---

Cyrus is a little late to TJ's basketball practice today, but it's mostly intentional. He knew he wasn't ready to talk to TJ again, not after what happened at lunch, but he also knew he couldn't just not show up without raising any suspicion from TJ. Everything is fine; everything is good. He doesn't have to worry. And now that the team is already well-into practice, he won't have to come up with things to say for at least another hour when they go on break.

Cyrus immediately finds his eyes trained on TJ though. He runs past two other players, effortlessly making the shot he lined up. And while Cyrus really doesn't want to make his crush obvious to the entire basketball team, he can't help the small cheer that spills from his mouth. Everyone turns to look at him, but TJ is the only one he notices. His eyes almost sparkle as he wipes some sweat from his forehead and Cyrus can feel himself slowly dying. How is he supposed to survive the whole time with TJ looking like that?

Practice goes on, Cyrus trying his hardest not to stare for too long, but it's harder than it sounds. Though his ogling isn't noticed by anyone, TJ's own lack of concentration is. By the entire team. And he can tell it's starting to get on everyone's nerves, especially the coach. Cyrus tries to keep cheering, but it's no use. TJ hasn't made a single shot since he arrived. Cyrus thinks he must have a lot on his mind. 

"Alright, enough," their coach calls out, looking like the human embodiment of a sigh. "Take five and come back ready to try." TJ seems to miss that the statement is directed at him specifically when he jogs over to Cyrus, smiling softly. TJ sits beside him, pressed right up to him so that their bodies make a perfect line where they come into contact with each other. TJ is still immensely sweaty, so by all means, Cyrus should find this disgusting. He's not willing to think about it beyond that.

"Hey," TJ says. He doesn't seem at all deterred by his poor performance, his chest heaving just a bit as he tries to catch his breath. Cyrus quickly offers him a bottle of water. He's surprised at how well he's handling all of this. TJ drinks half the water in one go, and when a couple drops slide down his chin, Cyrus can't help but stare. TJ wipes the water away and breaks into a grin once again.

"You always take care of me," he says. Cyrus genuinely can't tell if he's being serious or just joking. Anyone who said boys are less complicated than girls is dead wrong Cyrus has decided, because he can never seem to understand what TJ is thinking. Cyrus opens his mouth to reply with something smooth, like "no problem" or "you're welcome", but he knows it would probably come out as "you're problem". He narrowly avoids making a fool of himself when he's interrupted by stifled laughs. It takes everything in him for Cyrus not to turn to see the people who are definitely laughing at him. 

"Come on, Kippen. We all know you're whipped, but you really don't have to sit here and prove it to us." 

Cyrus's face goes dark - he absently wonders if blushing this often is detrimental to your health - and for once, TJ looks just as flustered. 

"Yeah," the other agrees, "You're so out of it today. Are we gonna have to ask Cyrus not to come to practice anymore?" No. Please, no. Leave me out of this. I'm not even here. It plays on repeat in Cyrus's head. It's one thing to be teased by TJ, but getting other people involved makes him more than a little uncomfortable, even if he's sure they don't mean anything malicious by it, his face feels like it's about to melt off of his skull. While TJ blushes for a split second, he clears his throat and ignores it.

"Not my fault he's so adorable." Both boys laugh in disbelief, the tail end of their laughter cut off by the coach's whistle blowing. TJ runs off with them, and Cyrus is left feeling humiliated beyond belief, and for the first time in a while, more than a little upset with TJ.

\---

Jonah is talking for a while before he finally realizes Cyrus definitely isn't listening. He waves his hands a few inches away from Cyrus's face until he blinks. It's still not much of a reaction as far as Cyrus goes.

"Is something wrong?" 

Cyrus takes a deep breath, contemplating what an explanation of his problem could result in, deciding its probably not worth it to have to relive his embarrassment.

"No, no, I'm just thinking," Cyrus says. He personally doesn't think he sounds all that convincing, but it seems to be enough for Jonah who smiles and moves on.

"Oh, okay! Wanna hear about the time I-"

"It's TJ."

"Oh. Well, it's okay if you don't wanna talk about it. I-"

"He keeps flirting with me, but it's obviously not real flirting. He's just messing around because that's what guys do these days, which is admittedly better than blatant homophobia. I just wish he could know how it makes me feel without, you know, telling him how I feel. He doesn't even really know I'm gay; it's not like I've told him so I really can't complain, but I still can't help being upset by the whole thing. Why do I have such horrible luck when it comes to boys?"

"Ouch," Jonah interrupts with a laugh. Cyrus looks at him for a second, realizing what he said, grimacing ever so slightly. Cyrus eventually told Jonah about his crush on him, once he was 100% sure it was gone and understood that he really only liked Jonah because he's cute, which is obvious to anyone with eyes. Jonah was really nice about the whole thing - of course he was - and they had recently gotten to a point where they could make jokes about it comfortably. This was one of those.

"You know what I mean. This just really sucks. I've never liked anyone as much as I like TJ and this whole situation is bringing me down and it feels like I can't do anything about it." Cyrus sighs and slumps down in his seat. 

"I'm sure he's not trying to hurt you," Jonah says with hope. It helps for a moment, but soon Cyrus is riled up over something completely different.

"Yeah. I'm sure he's genuinely just finding this whole thing extremely entertaining, and that's not fair. Having your crush essentially make fun of your attraction to them and rubbing it in your face isn't fun. It's even less fun when you're gay." 

Jonah looks contemplative, chewing his bottom lip for a second before opening his mouth.

"I really don't think it's an act."

"Not you too."

"I'm serious. You don't think TJ likes you? Have you seen the guy?" Cyrus can feel his heart rate increase and his chest starts to hurt as he practically commands it to calm down. He rolls his eyes in an attempt to seem unaffected but he's sure he looks like a disaster.

"Yeah, I've seen him. That's part of the joke. He looks at me and winks and smiles just to make me blush so he can laugh about it later. I've seen the teen movies. I know how it works." It's time for Jonah to roll his eyes.

"Movies aren't real. And anyway, I'm talking about the way he looks at you when you can't see him. If you're in his line of sight he's smiling like an idiot, trust me. It's not just to get a reaction out of you." Cyrus can feel tears welling up in his eyes and he's decided this has been enough as he stands and begins haphazardly collecting his things. 

"Sorry, but I prefer to keep my hopes where they are: close to the ground where it won't hurt too much when they inevitably fall." Despite Jonah's desperate calls out to him, Cyrus doesn't look back once, and when he gets home, his tears spill out freely, and that also manages to upset him.

\---

Once Cyrus has calmed down, he thinks about the whole thing logically. TJ will stop if Cyrus doesn't give him the reaction he wants. He can't believe it's taken him this long to figure it out. Maybe he can even try to beat TJ at his own game. Cyrus is almost positive that the moment he flirts back will be the moment TJ will decide he's had enough fun. Surely it'll be too gay if it's reciprocal. He quickly begins thinking up ways to make TJ just as flustered as he had been the past few days and falls asleep with more than a couple ideas.

However, when he gets to school, it's almost like TJ is hiding from him. He usually would have seen him in the hall between classes by now, and he's starting to get a little worried, but then arms wrap around his waist. Cyrus can feel his body begin to shut down. The feeling only gets stronger when he hears two words whispered  in his ear

"Hey, Underdog." The breath on the shell of his ear makes Cyrus more nervous than he ever has been around TJ. All of his previous thoughts fly out of his head at the physical contact, including all of his plans. He goes a couple seconds without saying a word, TJ starting to look slightly concerned, and then his brain goes into overdrive. 

"Hey, cutie." Cyrus immediately cringes when he hears the word come out of his mouth. It feels foreign and awkward in his voice and he barely keeps himself from choking when he looks at TJ again. TJ looks surprised, and maybe a little confused, but there's no sign of discomfort like Cyrus assumed there would. Instead, TJ smiles, soft before it transforms into something slightly more mischievous. 

"Cutie? That's new. If I'm cute does that make you beautiful?" This is bad. This isn't going how Cyrus wanted it to go, and while there's definitely a faint pink flush making its way onto TJ's cheeks, Cyrus knows he has him beat. He wouldn't be surprised if his entire face was completely red, but he keeps going.

"I can be whatever you want me to be."

"How about my boyfriend?" TJ says it without a second thought. Cyrus is genuinely stunned into silence. He was sure that TJ would back down if Cyrus went along with it and did some flirting of his own, but it seems to have only spurred him on further and now Cyrus feels like he could actually cry. However, he has no time for that as the bell rings and he realizes that if he doesn't leave now, he'll definitely be late to class.

"I have to go," he says, the words barely managing to come out of his mouth. The last one gets stuck in his throat. Cyrus takes one more look at TJ before he walks away. TJ looks concerned but doesn't have a chance to really say anything. Not that Cyrus thinks he would otherwise.

\---

At the end of the school day, Cyrus decides to walk around campus for a while before taking off, just to avoid running into TJ. He really wants to go to the swings but now that TJ knows it's his place, he doesn't think it's safe anymore. That's what he gets for sharing so much with a guy he's only known for a couple months, he supposes. He sighs and decides to lap around a couple more times - he even goes upstairs - before heading outside to walk home. He hopes his mom isn't too worried about the fact that he's a little later than usual. 

He feels like he can finally breathe again, but it's extremely short lived as he spots TJ standing at a street corner he passes every day. They make eye contact so he can't even pretend like he didn't see him. Despite this, TJ doesn't run over to him, or even walk to him, but simply waits for Cyrus to come to him. Giving him a chance to turn around and go back. He keeps walking.

"I thought you'd be home by now," Cyrus says. He's not going to bring up their earlier interactions if TJ doesn't. Of course he's not that lucky.

"I needed to make sure you were okay. You kinda ran off; I got worried."

"I mean, the bell rang. I kinda had to run."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, Cyrus. I just really really misinterpreted the situation, but that's all my fault, not yours," TJ says all in one breath. Cyrus opens his mouth to respond, or just acknowledge that he's heard what TJ is saying, even if he doesn't necessarily agree with it. None of this would be a problem if Cyrus could just get over this ridiculous crush and play along instead of freaking out over some words. But before he can express any of this, TJ plows on, talking faster than Cyrus has ever heard from him.

"It's obvious that you don't like me, and that you were just making jokes. I'm just an idiot and took it too far and made it weird. It was just wishful thinking. I really wish that none of this ever happened, and that we can move past it, but I totally understand if you don't because it must be really awkward to know your friend has basically had a crush on you since you met and-" 

"Oh my god, shut up." So it's not the most tactful Cyrus has ever been in his life, but TJ is saying so much and he can't absorb anything beyond 'TJ likes me'. TJ looks a little scared at his outburst, maybe even sad, and that's not what Cyrus wanted. He just needs to clarify everything like two minutes ago.

"I'm sorry-" 

"No! No apologies," TJ looks shocked at his volume but lets him go on. "You thought I was joking? I thought you were joking. This whole time. I thought you were just one of those straight guys that don't care what people think."

"First of all, being assumed straight, by you specifically, is the worst thing that's ever happened to me. Second... what does all of this mean?" Cyrus contemplates everything that's happened this week and tries to come up with anything that makes sense, and he can really only think of one thing.

"I think it means you should kiss me." TJ smiles at that as he begins to lean in, but then he hesitates. 

"I don't really know how to do this," he admits, not quite meeting Cyrus's eyes. On top of finding TJ extremely cute at that moment, he's also overcome with a wave of impatience brought upon by all of this nonsense. Nobody can, or should, blame him for the way he pulls TJ down and connects their lips. It's more than a little clumsy because for the most part, Cyrus also doesn't really know what he's doing, but it's still perfect as they part with matching smiles. 

"You know, I kinda like this bold, assertive side of you," TJ admits, tangling his fingers in Cyrus's hair. 

"Well, don't get used to him. I'm pretty sure this whole thing has put Assertive Cyrus into an indefinite hibernation." 

"That's okay. I like soft, shy Cyrus too. He laughs and blushes at all my lame pick-up lines." As if on cue, Cyrus's face goes pink, and honestly, he's kinda done with that, but TJ strokes his cheek and leans close again, and he thinks he can maybe live with it if he gets to have this.

 

**Author's Note:**

> i had fun with this one! send me more prompts at jockgaytj.tumblr.com!


End file.
